HOPSMACK! | Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

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Notes / Commercial Description:
First in the series, HOPSMACK! inspired us to launch the TG Hop Patrol Series “palate rescue mission”. Giant aromas of pineapple and tropical fruit jump from this enticingly complex double IPA. True to its name, this brew delivers a heavy smack of dry hops and a double dose of bitterness in the finish.

Reviews by daledeee:

How can I be finding all these incredible, fruity IPAs lately? A 22 oz bomber from Toppling Goliath. What more can I ask for?

Poured into my usual glass with a cloudy light yellow with all kinds of lacing. Nose is a hint of what is to come. Simply an incredible tasting beer. Pineapple and all kinds of fruit with a hint of oily hops to finish with perfect mouth feel. It doesn't get much better than this folks.

As a glitch in the craft beer system has us seeing "juicy" this and "hazy" that, Toppling Goliath restores order with a bold and expressive IPA that brings all the tropical impressions from hops along with the teeth churning bitterness that draw hop heads near and far.

Hopsmack lays a beat down on the senses with the radiant aroma of all things tropical but not without a bold citrus and melon complement. Hazy, golden and frothy, yet not absurdly so, the beer's first palate impressions are of light caramel, light honey and agave to suggest something of a mild granola culmination.

Once the sweetness relaxes and the malt impressions begin to dry, the hops roll onto the middle palate with force. A boisterous taste of tropical fruit lay tracks of papaya, pineapple, mango, apricot and guava all over the tastebuds. Succulence of citrusy orange, a light lemon and lime medley along with a firm grapefruit presence ensures a mildly tart, citronella and bitter, rindy, pithy late palate.

Medium bodied and trending dry, resinous and spicy, the hop bomb of a beer finishes with a full lupulin dominance. Crisp, clean and pleasantly herbal, the "green" character easily outlasts any malt rebuttal en route to a full, grassy and perfumy finish of fruit peels and peppery citron.

Pours a medium orange, stone fruit coloured body that is very hazy and opaque; two finger white head with thick lacing and nice retention. This is absolutely a beautiful, hazy pale ale. Smells of pineapple, tropical fruit, a bit of pine, mild-moderate strength grainy pale malt sweetness and tapioca. Not complicated, a bit on the sweeter side. This works a bit better on the flavour; pineapple, tropical fruits, papaya, grain, tapioca, a bit of caramel. The aromatic hops seem to make this beer taste sweeter than it really is. Bitter pine, orange peel and a bit of warming alcohol, almost spicy, on the finish. The mouthfeel is very smooth, medium bodied, slightly creamy, perfectly carbonated and well done. Not astringent, but fairly bitter with a nice pine and citrus peel finish. A bit on the warmer side in terms of heat. Overall, another tasty hoppy beer from Toppling Goliath. They do hops quite well and somehow have managed to define their own style of IPA in the midwest. I do think that there is a bit too much of spice and/or heat on the finish compared to the likes of Sosus or King Sue.

Hopsmack is one of those ugly beers. It looks like tepache in the glass, fermented pineapple. It's opaque and dense. The head is a sight to behold though. Two fingers of solid white foam on the pour barely rests itself through the drink. It settles a bit and becomes meringue-like. Sticky lace clings to the glass an with have to be removed with blowtorch.

The nose is absolutely huge. It reeks of tropical fruit. Huge ultra ripe pineapple with papaya, mango, and starfruit are sprinkled all over the place. The pineapple rules the roost. Blueberry and some softly dank forest qualities make themselves known as well. Tangerine peel and a smattering of other citric qualities persist. All this over the top of a subtle, bet there, sugar cookie base. This stuff smells great!

This tastes great! Everything I mentioned in the nose, it's here in the flavor. Tropical fruit basket leading the way. Pineapple to start, the others to follow closely. The subtle surrounding dankness pops up in the middle and pushes through the finish. Citrus brings up the rear with a welcomed candied quality. The hop profile is complex and delicious. The malt base is there but subtle enough to let the hop profile shine. Excellent!

As good as every other aspect seems to be, the mouthfeel is none the less. It's soft and pillowy upfront before it starts moving a bit. On the swallow it ends airy and dry with a bittering fits like a glove. That bittering is sturdy and bazzsaw-ish. The dryness accentuates it overall. This is damn near perfect.

Toppling Goliath just gets it. Hopsmack is ripe and vibrant and bold with a really great hop complexity that melds well but it's also bitter and dry and drinkable and dangerous. I can't get enough of this one. This could be my favorite beer from Toppling Goliath and that's saying a lot.

Just poured a fresh bomber. The thick, tropical nose is incredible. Color and head are in line. Almost as good as Scorpius but the finish has more bite at the front and rear palate for longer. Thanks, TG, for continuing to represent the Midwest!

Another great DIPA from TG. Super fruity and tropical with a nice bite of bitterness at the end. Goes down super easy for a big beer because it's juicy and hides it's ABV very well. I wish TG was in my distro.

Poured into a tulip glass from a 22oz bomber. Great golden color with a decent amount of head. Very hoppy scent and taste. Absolutely amazing! Good balance of citrus and hops. I wish I lived closer to the brewery in order to get this every time the brew it.

Copper colored and hazy in complexion. There's a fingernail of dishwater white on top. Heavy lacing. The aroma is of an orange grove. I'm tasting lots of citrus and a bit of pineapple and melon. The mouth is very smooth and easy especially considering the ABV!